I've been trying to improve the quality of the written text below in a few ways, mainly via my own redactions. Reding each chapter over after some time made me realise there were some things that didn't make sense, so I tried to fix them (or at least some of them).
Fortunately, I've found a beta for this story, but it is still going slowly.
I considered deleting the story and starting over, but some of the comments are so encouraging and dear to me that I can't bear the thought of losing them. Even so, I am aware that the people who left them are unlikely to return to keep reading.
So, to whom it may concern: I've begun reposting the chapters with the corrections, as well as posting them in Ao3.
Unmask Yourself
Chapter 1: A New Beginning
It was over. The fourth Shinobi War had just ended. In the crack of dawn everyone could take deep breaths, knowing they wouldn't have to put their lives on the line anymore. That knowledge had a price. And that price came with participating in the United Shinobi army that every village had to pay. Each village gave a lot of sacrifices. Many shinobi had buried their comrades and friends, their relatives, their beloved partners, some of them even their children.
Naturally with the end of the war a meeting of all of the Kages was held with the main purpose of making plans for recovering the villages and establishing a permanent union — of the Five Great Hidden Villages. Several more meetings were held until almost a year passed since the end of the war. When the villages had reached a proper level of recovery, the Kages expressed strong desire to settle for an end. They had to create a symbol that would represent all the sacrifices the shinobi had made, all the blood that had been shed during the war.
It would be a symbol of peace kept through time, reminding the next generation of the suffering that comes with the massive life loss.
The meeting was attended by the five Kages(1) and their bodyguards.
"A Festival," said Oonoki and looked at the rest of the Kages underneath his thick grey eyebrows.
Mei didn't seem to agree and carefully threw back her chestnut hair. "Doesn't a Festival sound a bit," she hesitated, "ordinary?"
"A parade then?" offered the Raikage, placing his only arm on the table. All he got was head shaking from all of the rest, which in turn led to a grudge on his part.
"So we could do it like that this year - same masks, clothes and wigs." Kakashi intervened. "We should blend just like we did on the battlefield."
"I am thinking," Gaara started quietly, "it should be something symbolic that emphasises the similarities rather than the differences between the shinobi and their village — to make it evident the differences are something possible to be overcome.
Oonoki and Mai nodded while Kakashi rubbed his chin thoroughly through his mask. He asked, "Memorable Day of the Masks?" All eyes turned to him, forcing an anxious smile on his face. "A day we would honour all the victims of the Fourth War as all of the shinobies would wear the very same mask? As a symbol."
"Faceless?" Mei specified questioningly.
"That's the main idea." Gaara nodded, perfectly understanding the meaning behind Kakashi's proposition. "There shouldn't be any difference, no matter the village the shinobi are coming from. I would go even further to offer the same clothes and wigs."
Raikage shook his head. "That sounds like a bit too much."
"I am going to agree with you here." Mei nodded.
"Gaara may be right, actually." Oonoki said thoughtfully. "It is clear this day is going to become more symbolic as the time goes. But we, who lost so many comrades, need that symbol to overcome the consequences of the war."
"So we need a high starting point for the first honouring," Kakashi admitted. "We may require the use of masks, wigs and similar, even the same, clothes. All of that to reach a certain level of equality, just like on the battlefield."
"Let's say we do that. How do we ensure safety?" Raikage asked, "We shouldn't forget that even united, we still have foes." A immediately jumped in, as he knew from a practical point of view, there should be someone in charge; from his point of view, he was convinced that someone should be him, so he would gladly volunteer.
Gaara crossed his arms before his chest. "We should ensure guard posts around the chosen place, when we do choose one."
"So we have to ensure a suitable location first." Mai pointed out, frowning.
Oonoki frowned and also crossed his arms. "Since the Fire country is somewhat in the middle, it looks like the best option for hosting such an event."
Kakashi nodded slowly. "That can be done, yes."
"But… Even if you put on masks on everyone and dress them the same way, we still have our unique chakra signature. Friends and comrades would recognise that with no mistake. The 'blending' you aim for is not going to happen at all." Mei shook her head.
"Even if the chakras were recognizable, why wouldn't the blending work?" asked Gaara.
"Because every shinobi would prefer the company of their friends and comrades in most cases," the Raikage explained, narrowing his eyes.
"So you say, for the 'blending' to work properly we should eliminate the 'chakra signature' factor?" Gaara raised his eyebrows, tapping a finger on his chin.
"More or less, this is kind of a condition in case you want to force a group of shinobi from different villages to fully blend in within each other and in front of the others." Mei leaned in, placing her elbows on the table.
"Every jounin can almost perfectly suppress his or her chakra signature if it is required." Kakashi intervened.
"That's true… But if such a requirement is set, we should exclude the lower rank shinobi, shouldn't we?"
Oonkoki was listening and tapping on the table, his mind was obviously running through something else. "I don't think we can gather the rest of the united army in one place. We should be a bit more realistic. It must be more symbolic."
The Kages went silent as each of them was thinking over all that had been said up until the current moment, looking for the best decision.
"What if," Kakashi spoke with a bit of a dreamy voice, "we organise Festivals in each village at the same time?" His gaze wandered from one person to another while he vocalised his idea. "About the Memorable Day of the Masks, let's do it with a small group of shinobi, that we will entrust to go in each village and honour symbolically on our behalf. Travelling together. Each village will pick up 2 to 5 shinobi for that purpose. What do you think about that?"
There was a short silence as the Kages were thinking about the last idea.
"I do like that." Gaara stated as the first one that spoke.
"I also find this idea good." A, the Raikage, agreed.
Mei and Oonoki nodded, but Mei frowned as if she was about to say something. She decided to hold her tongue for the time being.
"We could gather the representatives near the Fire country's north border as a starting travel point." Oonoki grinned. "And the next important question appears — which will be the first village in the tour?"
"I suggest Suna." Gaara slightly smiled, leaning backwards. "Also, I think the first village should change every year, so it would be fair."
His idea was warmly welcomed by the other Kages. They also approached the question about the chakra suppression once again. A decision was made that the shinobi would be required to suppress their chakra signature during village visits. The purpose was to not allow their comrades to recognise them and sympathise with them more somehow. A discussion followed, mostly about the security aspects; it was indeed dangerous to let shinobi with suppressed chakra signatures in a village. Anyone, meaning a foe, could use that for an advantage. In the end they decided for chakras to be suppressed but the participants to go under thorough verification before entering each village.
Oonoki eventually spoke, smiling slyly, "According to the participants in the tour…I would suggest a condition to pick up young shinobi. Nothing could be more uniting than travelling together, spending time together. So we may as well use this as a chance to pick some of the ones that would come after us."
The rest of the Kages looked at the eldest one with slight surprise.
Mei's face bloomed with a beautiful smile as she turned to Chojuro, "Mind to join a group of young and pleasant company for about a month?" Her voice was low and silky, practically irresistible.
The boy, actually a young man, slightly blushed by the sudden attention, answering shortly, "Whatever your orders are, Mizukage-sama." Then his head dropped down in embarrassment.
"Shikamaru, I hope you understand…?" Kakashi said quietly, never turning back.
"Yes, you can count on me," the young black-haired man nodded.
"Also I would ask you to pick-"
Shikamaru interrupted him, "I already have."
Kakashi looked at him over his shoulder, giving him a slightly confused smile, and nodded.
"Kankuro…" Gaara turned to his brother who was standing two steps behind him. "Temari and yourself are going to join this mission." Kankuro just nodded, not saying a word. He usually wasn't really talkative during the Kages' meetings, though he was always listening attentively.
"Darui…" the Raikage started, but the other man shook his head.
"Let Shee go," he said, an audible plea in his voice. The Raikage, not used to being objected to, nodded thoughtfully, deciding to let this slide.
"Of course Kurotsuchi is also going to join." Oonoki grinned at his granddaughter, who didn't look especially enthusiastic by her grandfather's choice.
"Of course…" she said under her breath.
Gaara got up and vortexed a small amount of sand, mixing it up with his own chakra and held in hands a mask after a few seconds. He placed it down the table. The mask only resembled human facial features - it had holes for the eyes, little holes in the base of the nose, but it lacked mouth and expression.
The Kages stared at the mask for a few minutes.
"I believe," said Oonoki, "there is no better mask than this one."
Gaara nodded and slightly smiled.
"A Festival, called Celebration of Peace and Memorable Day of the Masks," whispered Mei and smiled tenderly, while looking at the mask.
"There are just a few more things you may want to discuss…" Shikamaru's voice trailed off while his hand was scribing a list, which he soon placed over the table. It contained points on the exact way the honouring would be happening, the timing of the festivals, the best routes, the accommodations during the group stay in each village and some more.
Kakashi picked the list up and rubbed his forehead. "Ok, shall we finish this off?" he asked.
"Sure." Mei sighed and prepared for a few more hours within the confines of the very same room…
Kankuro looked at the rest of their little group: Temari, his sister, whom he knew better than anyone; Ameno(2) — a medic ninja, really generous and kind person, who had gotten close to Temari after the war; Ittetsu(3) — a young shinobi, honestly admiring Gaara, which was the main reason they picked him.
"Well, it looks like everyone is here," Temari said, placing her hands on her hips.
Kankuro set his pack on his back. "So, it is time to get going, then."
"It is a bit weird to be on a mission that doesn't require any fighting," Ameno said quietly, glancing at Temari, who just shrugged.
"One can never know," Kankuro intervened, looking at her with the edge of his really dark eyes. "We shouldn't relax too much, though."
"Do you really believe that everything will go on peacefully?" Ittetsu asked, whispering. He was feeling really uneasy in the very close presence of Suna's princess and one of their princes. He felt…little.
"I do, actually," Temari admitted.
Ittetsu was looking obviously unconvinced, so Kankuro took pity on him and decided to provide an explanation. "What my dear sister probably means, is we are expecting to form a fine group of about 15 up to 20 shinobi. A person with full possession of his, or her, faculties, wouldn't attack such a group without thorough preparation.
"Considering the decision about this mission had been held in secret until just a few days ago, it wouldn't really allow for enough time. To prepare for an attack, I mean. Which plants a serious doubt in me anyone would dare to attack at all. Even so,"— he looked at the youngest shinobi, turning his face with painted thick purple lines toward him —"I still wouldn't dare to fully relax. Our history can provide more than one instance of shinobi — not quite san — that are mighty nonetheless."
"But why would anyone attack us?" Ittetsu pondered aloud.
"To stir trouble?" guessed Temari, grinning without any trace of joy.
Kankuro sighed, letting out his inhaled breath through his teeth, making a hissing sound. "The only valid reason for an attack I see is to simulate a battle between all of us, the participants."
Temari shrugged. "The purpose would be to set some doubt upon the Future Union and shake out the freshly created trust."
"Oh…" Ittetsu lowered his head, unable to take in the sight of the overly-toothy mocking smile of his princess.
"Temari, you are scaring the boy off." Kankuro teased her. His sister didn't know when to stop sometimes.
"The boys should get scared every now and then," she answered unabashedly.
Ameno chuckled quietly, placing a hand over her mouth.
"You do understand no man will want to get married to you, if you keep behaving this way?" Kankuro asked, raising one of his eyebrows ironically.
"Why on earth do you think I even want to get married?" She replied a bit sharper than she initially intended.
"I have no idea if you do want to…." he said slowly and turned to face her, looking scary, dressed in black head-to-toe, having a black hood covering his head. "What I am saying is that it won't happen at all, if you keep behaving like that!"
Temari wouldn't back down, "It isn't like any woman would take you in voluntarily!" she hissed at him.
Ittetsu visibly shrank and went a bit closer to Ameno, who was currently trying to get the backpack comfortable on her shoulders and untwist her sleeveless white tunic. He slightly leaned in and whispered warily, "Are they usually treating each other this way?" he asked.
She looked at him. Her full lips formed a kind smile. "Most of the time, when there is nothing really important to discuss, actually they do…" her voice trailed off and she shrugged.
The youngest shinobi glanced at them again: Temari was threatening her brother with a fist and he didn't seem to back off. Her arms looked deceptively gentle in the long light purple sleeves of her top. He had seen her fight — she was everything but gentle.
Temari was so heated up and angry, that her hands grabbed the giant fan folded on her back, ready to blow her brother away, yelling at him.
"Even when Gaara-sama is there?" Ittetsu asked unbelievably.
"Yes, even when he is present." Ameno chuckled. "Gaara-sama just ignores them and lets them sort it out by themselves."
"Oh…" was the only thing Ittetsu could muster.
"Don't you have siblings?" she asked, glancing at him with the edge of her eyes.
He shook his head, "No…"
"Well, the relations between siblings are often like what you see here. It may look like they hate each other, but actually they are just teasing a bit rougher since they are close enough to handle it. If a danger approaches any of them, the other sibling will be the first one to jump in defence."
He turned his eyes on Temari and Kankuro again — they had already finished their argument and looked upset with each other. And even though they walked side by side, their sights were directed in different directions.
"Well, it will be quiet for a while." Ameno chuckled, tilting her head to them. "Let's go."
She took a few light and graceful steps on the path and Ittetsu followed her.
The young kunoichi was standing in front of Kirigakure's gate, feeling anxious. She was really surprised when Mei-sama called for her two days ago and explained that the kunoichi had been chosen to present the village in a special cross-village mission. The mission squad's purpose was to make a round through all of the Hidden villages, paying tribute to all the shinobi that lost their lives in the war. The young woman would have to spend almost a month in the company of complete strangers.
Mei-sama had said that she would have to wear a mask, a wig and a…kind of a uniform inside all of the villages, while she completed a ritual of paying tribute. There was a mention of chakra suppression, but that topic was left unclear, as the Mizukage dismissed it with a simple wave of her delicate hand. Obviously she would be instructed later on.
But she felt this responsibility of representing the whole village in this ritual of honour heavily on her shoulders. And she was scared of the probability of being the cause for one to make fun of her village or Mei-sama.
She looked calm from afar. Her small frame was leaning on the gate, holding her hands in a loosened grip. Her dark brown hair barely reached her shoulders and now was swaying slightly from the morning breeze. It was a weird feeling to not have a forehead protector. Mei-sama had insisted on that — she had said that in this squad there will be no affiliation. All of the participants had taken part in the united army and now they were going to that mission as a part of that army. Her black eyes drifted in the distance, carefully following the outlines of the boat that was going to take them to the mainland. Them… She was waiting for someone, but she didn't know for whom. All that she knew was that they were going to be two.
"Good morning, Ruka-san."
She abruptly turned around and her hair got in her eyes. In front of her stood none other, but one of Mizukage-sama's personal bodyguards and a member of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist. The young man was shy at first sight and Ruka(4) had never actually communicated with him, so she didn't have a personal impression. She had never seen him from such a short distance as well. And for the very first time she had a chance to actually take a look at him: he had a nice-looking face and his cheeks were charmingly flushed with embarrassment. His light blue hair was shortly cut, his dark eyes were protected by glasses, as his ears were with protectors. She thought the ear protectors were actually a headset when she first saw them.
The holster of his sword, Hiramekarei, was passing over his left shoulder and his chest. The young woman realised that Hiramekarei was the most distinctive thing in Chojuro's appearance. If the sword's handle wasn't peeking over his right shoulder, and the body of the sword wasn't visible behind the left side of his body, she may not be able to recognise the man at all.
"Good morning, Chojuro-sama," she replied politely and bowed down in respect.
He smiled shyly, revealing his sharpened teeth, typical for the members of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist.
"We will have to spend the next month together," he quietly said. "You can lose the 'sama'..." When he dared to peek into her eyes, filled with doubts, he added, "If you feel it is suitable, of course."
She let out an anxious laugh, "I think I will keep it for the time being." She then shifted her gaze to the boat in an attempt to change the topic. "Maybe we should proceed to boarding?"
"Yeah, we could board. The boat should depart in about fifteen minutes." The man looked at his watch.
Chojuro walked past her at a respectful distance, heading down to the dock. Ruka took a deep breath and followed him.
She didn't quite expect him. She actually didn't know who she was expecting, but it certainly was not him. Ruka could say she was caught completely by surprise about this.
He slowed down a bit, giving her a chance to catch up. It was considered a polite thing to do, even if it wasn't completely necessary. Still, she valued the gesture.
Honestly, Ruka had some questions… quite a lot actually. But she wasn't sure it was…fine to just ask away. She didn't know him, even a bit. Although he looked like a calm and collected person, he might get angry at her curiosity. So she was just unwillingly biting her lower lip, holding her tongue.
"You look troubled…" he said questioningly, without even looking at her.
Ruka stiffed for a second, sensing sharply how her teeth were sinking into her mouth's flesh. She glanced at him with obvious hesitation and decided that honesty would be the best policy.
"I don't know anyone. We will be together with shinobi, which will be completely foreign to me." She looked at him yet again. "Don't get me wrong, I am used to being with people I don't know all the time. I am just never…me." She trailed off, not wanting to share anything more right now.
He held her gaze, "Well, they will also be with shinobi they don't know anything about. Well, most of them anyway," he shrugged. "We are not going there as enemies, but rather as future friends. Just don't rush into making conclusions, ok?" His voice was somewhat warm and careful, which made her actually hear what he was saying. And he was right — she knew he was. However, she was still feeling uneasy.
Ruka shook her head, "But… but…" She took a breath, struggling to form a sentence with which she wanted to vocalise her concerns.
Chojuro turned to her just before he stepped on the boat, "Look, I… If we have to be honest, you don't know me either. I do understand you are worried. But, as I already said, they are not our enemies. Just like I am not an enemy — not to you, anyway. And I will be there, by your side, all the time. Whatever happens, I will be there, and we will fight side by side if we must. You know you can trust me about that one, don't you?"
She nodded shortly. He was Mei-sama's bodyguard. Ruka was certain that Chojuro was maybe the most trustful shinobi in her whole village.
"And you do have an advantage — you surely know more about me than I do about you. Actually the only thing I know about you is your name."
The man stepped on the boat and stretched out his hand to her. She nodded and took it.
Two men were heading towards the Tsuchikage's tower. They had already introduced themselves to each other so they were just walking side by side in comfortable silence.
The younger one had obviously constrained facial expression. His complexion was pale and his black, shoulder length hair was covered with a red wrap. He was shorter and thinner than the other man. The older one's facial expression was definite and calm; his skin — slightly darker. His short, light brown hair was sticking out pleasantly and the circular beard made him look even more collected than he already was.
"Wasn't it more logical to meet up at Iwagakure's gates?" asked the younger one.
"Tsuchikage-sama wants to talk with us. So we have to go to the tower anyway. It was simply easier for Kurotsuchi-sama to wait for us there," the older one answered.
When they reached the tower, the guards checked their passes and let them in.
In Oonoki's office Kurotsuchi(7) had made herself comfortable. She had placed her feet on a small table in the corner and was eating an apple. When the men entered, she put her feet down, left the apple on a small, white plate, and got up. She approached them and reached out for the older man with her hand.
Smiling softly, she fixed her distinctive pink eyes into the man's. "Good morning! I am Kurotsuchi."
"Ittan(5)," he replied. "Good morning, Kurotsuchi-sama." When she released his hand, he stepped back and bowed.
There was a slight anxiousness crossing over her face but she didn't say anything. Instead, she turned to the younger one to introduce herself.
"Sagan(6), your highness…" he muttered, looking down, his cheeks flushed. That was the princess… And he had felt both anxious and excited about meeting her.
The woman slightly laughed and turned to the elder man behind the desk, smiling timidly.
"Well, they are already here. I am going to get my bag and we can be on our way." She was heading slowly towards the door and then left the office.
"Now, let's talk business." Oonoki said to both of the men the moment the door shut. "You have been chosen because you tend to not stir trouble. And the last thing we need right now is trouble." It was well known Oonoki had become painfully straight forward as he aged. "I want you to blend with the other shinobi from the other villages. And not only to not cause trouble, but to interject each time there is even a glimpse of an eventual problem. And to prevent it."
Ittan frowned but nodded. Sagan didn't dare to breathe.
"Kurotsuchi is well aware of all of that. But if you have to, you can remind her of what we just talked about." Oonoki sighed and placed his hands over the desk. "This is much more of an organised squad to honour the victims. This is kind of a check-up if we are able to collaborate together… the villages I mean." He looked at them under his big grey eyebrows. Ittan nodded, calm yet again; Sagan flinched.
"We will do our best to ensure the smoothest execution of this mission," said Ittan and bowed slightly.
"Alright, alright." Oonoki nodded almost happily. "Nara Shikamaru will be there as a team leader, as far as I am informed. Listen well to what he is saying. He is one of the smartest men living in the five villages."
Sagan's eyes widened; Ittan nodded again, still and peaceful as there wasn't anything critically important required out of them.
Ittan knew the Konoha's shinobi was the Hokage's oficial bodyguard and his advisor. The advisors were picked carefully. And if Shikamaru was elected to that position, there was a good reason. His election for a team leader was no accident either.
"You can go." The Tsuchikage waved his hand dismissively, attempting to shoo them out.
The men exited the room. Once in the hallway, they headed for the exit of the tower where they should be meeting up with Kurotsuchi.
"Nothing will happen if I tap my finger on your mask!" The red-haired woman with dark skin and amber eyes tapped on one of the masks demonstratively. "Do you see?! Stop making it up!"
"It is not true — an inconspicuous crack may appear, it can expand with the climate changes in the different villages. Especially considering we are going to Suna first. You are aware that the bodies expand as the temperature rises, so that means the cracks will expand even more. And there is strong wind in the desert that could dig the sand out of the mask. When we hold the ritual the mask may fall apart over my face. That could mean—"
The woman hit him hard, sending him a few metres away, "Just stop! That's just your pessimistic bullshit and you know it!"
Omoi rubbed his chin with a pained expression. He looked up at his teammate and frowned; she was getting angry way too easily — she just refused to sit and think the way he was doing it. But he could tell she was pissed enough, and he prefered to stay silent. He got up and took a lollipop out of his pocket.
Karui(8) huffed, crossing her arms in front of her chest. Her body was thin and lithe, her breasts small. The latter was often the main reason for Omoi's verbal attacks.
Contrasting the dark skins Karui and Omoi(9) had, two light skinned and blond-haired shinobi were approaching. The woman looked bored; the man was smiling impishly. She turned, and without any obvious reason, grabbed his ear, twisting it painfully.
"Atsui," she said calmly and narrowed her blue eyes, fully ignoring his protest, "behave. Do you hear me?" she asked.
"Yes, yes! Damn it! Let me go, Oneesan!"
"I will let you go, though I want to make sure you have heard me. That's why I am here."
He nodded, his face twisting painfully.
"Good." The woman released him and he placed a hand over his ear, sulking. "If you cause any problems, A-sama will punish you harshly when you come back," she added, distractingly massaging her shoulder. "As far as I was informed, your punishment will include a lot of missions rank D, three groups of small children unfinished at the academy and regularly cleaning of not so pleasant trash."
The man shrank visibly and slightly snarled.
She gave him an almost imperceptible cruel smile. "I am happy you understand."
"Samui, why are you so evil?" he shouted desperately.
"I am the older one, I am supposed to be evil. It comes with the age difference."
Karui laughed pure-heartedly; Omoi raised his eyebrows and moved the lollipop to his other cheek.
"Amai-san(11), you can come out now," announced Samui looking at the second tree on the left.
A shinobi, dressed in a standard uniform for the Hidden Cloud, jumped down from the tree. The moment he landed, he bowed respectfully to Samui, and got up after he was told to. He was young and kind of handsome — he had short, soft, light brown hair and big, black eyes. A slight smile graced the rest of the group from his lips.
"How long… have you…?" Omoi asked, pointing to the tree with his chin.
"Oh, around an hour or so," he said, his smile turning to a shy one.
Karui stepped up. "Why didn't you just show up?" She looked ready to attack him.
"I do have an explanation," Samui said, sighing lightly. "As far as I know you two, and I do know you pretty well, you have probably started yelling at each other even before you got here. In his place, I would have also stood hidden."
Atsui(10) started to laugh out loud, his blond chin-length hair moved along with his head. His sister glanced at him with exasperation through her eyelashes but said nothing.
She sighed, turning to her teammates, "Karui, Omoi… Omoi, please try to keep those twisted 'logical' conclusions and predictions to yourself. Karui, keep down the curses and the rude language. Try counting to ten before hitting anyone or yelling at someone, unless it is my brother. Then you don't have to count, he usually deserves it anyway…"
Karui's smile caused really unpleasant chills over Atsui's back. He slid his hands over his flanks as if he was checking his weapons supply.
Another shinobi in Cloud-village uniform approached the group. He had a fair complexion, just like Atsui and his sister. His hair was blond, but not so blond as the siblings'.
"Well, it looks like Shee-san(12) is here as well," Samui said and pulled out a scroll from her pocket.
When the newcomer was close enough, she handed the scroll to him with a short nod.
"You got instructions on how to open the Hidden Mist Village's scroll, right?" she asked.
"Amai did." Shee looked at the man mentioned. "The team leader should only carry the scroll."
Samui raised an eyebrow. "Right."
"And we are supposed to give our scroll to the Hidden Stone shinobi, right?" He double-checked, frowning.
Samui nodded. Then, she stepped towards her brother, placed a hand on his shoulder, and squeezed tightly. He took a sharp breath through his teeth, attempting to get away. Unsuccessfully.
"Would you stop hurting me?" he hissed.
"There are two decent medics in your group," she replied softly. "You will be fine." She looked at the group for the last time. "Good luck and"— she smiled and released her brother's shoulder —"have a good time." Then she turned around and headed down the path with moderately slow steps.
"Great… I am in a group with men only… I am going to die out of boredom," Karui mumbled.
"There are women that would actually be happy to be surrounded by men only." Astui grinned so widely that his light blue eyes looked like two slits for a moment.
"Right on the target," Omoi said nonchalantly. "Women, not flat-chested…"
Karui spun around to her teammate, dangerous flames sparkled in her amber eyes.
"I would run if I was you," Atsui shared and looked at Omoi with pity.
Karui prepared her fist for a tough hit. Omoi really ran off while Atsui chuckled. Amai and Shee exchanged gazes and just shrugged.
The Residences of the three clans: Nara, Yamanaka and Akimichi, shared a common border, marked with a beautiful wooden gazebo. This place had become the most frequented one for meeting between the three representatives of these clans and former teammates. Although they didn't have any blood relationship, their clans were really close to each other — those representatives grew together and were like real relatives — two brothers and a sister, siblings. Their clans have developed the perfect collaboration between the specific for each of the clan's abilities.
This morning there was a man headed down to the gazebo — he had a lithe figure and tied on a high, spiky ponytail of black hair. Even though he looked potentially very agile, he was moving lazily, as if what was about to happen next was something he truly loathed. His face looked quite bored, and his hands darted to his pockets, settling comfortably in them.
There was a man and a woman already waiting at the gazebo; the woman was lean and blond, the man was big, his brown hair was cascading down his back in spikes. They were talking, but the woman was visibly anxious. Her hair moved slightly when she shook her head emotionally. When her eyes caught the man approaching, she got up right away and took a few angry steps towards him, staring with bright blue eyes.
"Oi, Shikamaru!" Ino frowned at him. "Will I ever see you hurry for anything at all?" She crossed her arms before her chest, still looking pissed.
"There are ten more minutes until the meeting at the gate. There is no reason for me to be in a hurry. We will get there earlier anyway," he replied and didn't even try to hide the tiredness on his face.
She sighed with a slightly worried expression. "We have to go to Tenten's flat. I worry about her."
"You are worried about almost everybody." The other man said, stepping out of the gazebo.
"That's not true!" she insisted, glancing at him over her shoulder.
"It's true." Shikamaru sighed and shrugged. "And why on earth should we all go to Tenten's flat? Just go there by yourself, pick her, and come to the meeting. We will be there."
Her mouth slightly opened with surprise while he was talking. "I can't believe how hard-hearted you have gotten and how you don't give a damn about anything!"
He frowned. "Don't be a drag."
"Everything is a drag to you!" She frowned back.
"Whatever… I am heading to the gate. You can do whatever you please." Shikamaru shrugged nonchalantly and headed on. "Just have in mind we are leaving on time. Make sure to not be late." He had turned his head slightly over his shoulder, but he never raised his very dark eyes to look at her.
She shook her head, whispering. "I just can't believe it…"
The big man wasn't sure how he was supposed to react. He wanted to follow both of them, though that could not be possible. He was standing on the gazebo's entrance, shoulders relaxed, moving his sad gaze from one of his friends to the other.
"Chouji, it is all right." She turned to him with a kind smile. "You can go with him. You would tell me afterwards how he scratched his ears till blood came out, because I intend to curse him all the way to Tenten's. His ears should be burning."
The man looked at her in disbelief.
"Ino, that's really not… you," he said, trying to calm her with a smile. "You are not vengeful, nor cruel."
"But for him"— she pointed at the other man with her chin —"I can become both."
Chouji shook his head, looking at her with great doubt, and ran off after his friend. His hair spikes slightly swayed with the speed and his vest caught a glimpse of the sunlight, making it sparkle for just a moment.
Ino flinched. Shikamaru had changed quite a bit after his father's death. He had become more…distant and condescending, and more…rude. It was like his soft side had become rougher. She was worried for him as well, but he had dodged all of her efforts to help him, refusing to cooperate. And she really wanted to help him, because of how dear he was to her. Shikamaru was one of her brothers. Of course Ino was not going to give up — she was planning to get under his skin little by little and make him share his feelings with her. It was going to be hard, but Chouji was going to help her, hopefully.
She turned on her heels and ran off towards Tenten's flat. She was already late and there was a chance her friend had left for the gates. And she really had — when Ino got there and knocked on the door, no one answered. She looked up to the window. Whenever Tenten was home, the window was open, and the light bluish veil was waving out. The window was closed at the moment.
Ino squeezed her eyes briefly and ran towards Konoha's gate. Of course, she got there last.
Tenten nodded at her; Lee greeted her with a really wide smile on his face.
"Good morning, Ino-san." He bowed respectfully, and slightly more enthusiastically than was bearable for her right now.
Knowing he was guilty of nothing, she suppressed the bad mood and smiled back. "Good morning." Then she turned to Tenten and her smile changed to an apologetic one. "I am sorry, I had some seat backs on the way." She glanced at Shikamaru. He did nothing but ignore her completely.
Tenten shook her head dismissively. "Don't worry." She smiled tiredly and narrowed her beautiful hazel eyes. "Lee was so nice to come over to my place about 30 minutes before the time to leave. Really," the woman gave her a more intense gaze, "don't worry about it."
Ino nodded and looked at her — Tenten, as all the rest of the group, except Chouji, was dressed in a standard Konoha's uniform. It looked like hers was borrowed by a woman two sizes bigger. And it shouldn't be, as it was her original uniform, used during the war. Ino knew her friend had started to lose weight after the end of it. Actually, Tenten had always been more lithe than the other members of their little females only group, but her body was closer to sickly at the moment. Her face was thinner and paler than her usual, previous self. Her chestnut colour hair was stubbornly kept in the very same style since early childhood — 2 symmetrical buns on the parietal part of her head. Sometimes Ino would bug her, insisting on trying something different, but her friend would just shake her head 'no.'
The war had made some changes to them all; some of them had changed less, some — more. Ino was well aware of why Tenten looked the way she did. The blond herself had changed quite a lot after her father's death.
"How are you feeling?" Ino asked quietly, when she was close enough to Tenten.
She smiled slightly. "Fine."
Tenten had denied the need for grief. When the war was over, she hadn't shed a tear. She had just straightened up, neglecting her feelings as something with lesser meaning, and went on with her life the way she thought was right. Even though… Ino sighed quietly.
"It is time to leave," Shikamaru announced, swinging his backpack over his shoulder. Then he walked slowly ahead.
Chouji and Lee followed him in silence. Tenten and Ino exchanged gazes and walked in the back of the group. The trip started much quieter than Ino expected. Maybe it was not so bad, though… Maybe?
NOTES:
In order to not bore all of you with additional descriptions of attires and known facts about the characters' appearance (Narutopedia source), I am just going to set those here only for whoever doesn't know them. I have skipped the characters that appear more often in the manga (most likely in the anime as well), hoping there is no need to describe them. So:
- Tsuchikage of the Hidden Rock village;
A - Raikage of the Hidden Cloud village;
Mei - Mizukage of the Hidden Mist village;
Gaara - Kazekage of the Hidden Sand village;
Kakashi - Hokage of the Hidden Leaf village
: a kunoichi of Sunagakure, specialising in healing techniques. She appears to be relatively tall, fair-skinned, and lightly brown-eyed. Her hair is brown, which she wears in a middle-high ponytail. She appears only in the anime. She takes part in the chuunin exams with her team when Sakura, Chouji and Ino also take part in it. She has a Suna crest imprinted on the right side of her white collared and sleeveless outfit with a red violet sash and a brown cord (source - Narutopedia).
: a shinobi of Sunagakure with a genin rank. He has short brown hair over which he wears his forehead protector in a bandanna style (in the case there is no protector). He wears a brown flak jacket over a short-sleeved, blue shirt along with a pair of dark pants. He also wears a pair of silver Suna arm guards and a pair of fingerless gloves. (source - Narutopedia).
: a kunoichi of Kirigakure. She is a slim woman with fair skin, black eyes, and shoulder-length brown hair. She sports the standard attire of Kirigakure with a skirt. (source - Narutopedia).
: a shinobi of Iwagakure. He has light-coloured, spiky hair and a dark-coloured beard. He wears the standard Iwagakure shinobi outfit complete with his right sleeve missing. (source - Narutopedia).
: a shinobi of Iwagakure. He has long, brown hair which reaches into his back with a bang on the left side of his face. Attire-wise, he wears the standard attire of the Iwa-nin complete with a two-sleeved shirt, with mesh armour underneath it. He also wears his red forehead protector in a bandanna style.(source - Narutopedia).
: a kunoichi of Iwagakure. She is the granddaughter of Oonoki (the Tsuchikage). She has short, black hair and distinctly pink eyes. In this story she wears a short red sleeveless tunic (fishnet sleeve on her right arm) with two slits on the sides, going high. Underneath the tunic she has short black leggings. (source - Narutopedia; imaginary attire for the sake of this story).
: a kunoichi of Kumogakure She has dark skin, long spiky red hair and amber eyes. Her attire consists of a long, dark green, short-sleeved dress with frilly edges complete with the Kumogakure flak jacket, two simple yellow earrings, fishnet stockings, thigh-high boots with white soles and a white bandanna. She also carries a long sword on her back. (source - Narutopedia).
: a shinobi of Kumogakure. He has dark skin Kumo-nin with short, spiky, white hair and dark eyes. He wears a dark outfit consisting of an overlong shirt with a hood, with red bandage hand guards, Kumogakure shin guards, and a black forehead protector (which he is not wearing in the story) along with a Kumogakure flak jacket. He also carries a long sword on his back. (source - Narutopedia).
: a shinobi of Kumogakure. He has neck-length, blond hair, worn in an asymmetrical bowl cut style and green eyes (he will have blue eyes in the story). His typical attire consists of a sleeveless version of the standard Kumogakure uniform, along with the village's respective flak jacket. He also has bandages on his forearms, shin guards and the kanji for "heat" (熱, netsu) tattooed on his left shoulder. (source - Narutopedia).
: a shinobi of Kumogakure. He is said to be a med-nin. He has brown hair, a long fringe hanging over his forehead and large, dark eyes. Amai wears the standard uniform of Kumogakure with a closed collar and no sleeves.
(C): a shinobi of Kumogakure. He has dark eyes and short, blond hair which he wears parted in the front. He wears the standard attire of the Kumo-nin: a sleeveless, black shirt with a one-strap-over-one-shoulder white flak jacket, black forehead protector, characteristic black, elbow-length arm-guards, and the red and white Kumogakure shin-guards along with a pair of sandals. (source - Narutopedia).
Thankies to:
Red Shirt (Iva), for taking the initial damage, you know what I mean…
Vicar Amelia, for taking the charge of the commas (those bastards);
Christa, for reading the chapter and being able to find and point out a few mistakes. Also thank you for the enthusiasm, and that you found the story fine enough to check the first chapter out.
Alezja, for being my compass and gaps-finder; for finding the time to talk with me, giving me another point of view and bringing (by bringing, I actually mean "dragging") me back on track (but as I often drift off, I truly need this).
Rebecca, for the accurate corrections, the many (many) explanations, the patience and most of all the kind words (you will probably never know how much they mean to me).